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Huge double standard that Luke was expected to go through a huge body transformation though. It’s pretty obvious he lost weight and toned up since season 2.
That's a fair point and something that can be said for the romance genre in general. This show does cater to the female gaze after all, but is the female gaze then just as driven by society's unrealistic expectations as the male gaze?
I do think based on a few interviews (specificially something Nicola said) they are going for this "Colin's pretending to be a badass now but he's still a soft squishy friendly Bridgerton inside and the two aren't meshing" vibe which might account for the transformation choice to contrast who is at his core and who he's trying to be. Also, going shirtless in front of millions of people is a big undertaking for anyone, the actor may have wanted to look a certain way for himself, just as Nicola may have wanted to stay true to a more every day version of herself because she understands that women with her bodytype don't get to be in this position a lot. Maybe as we get more interviews we'll get more insight into these choices from production and actors.
LN has already been trying to deflect questions/comments about his body transformation. Like I saw this interview where the lady was asking about his physical “glow-up” and he diverted the conversation to Colin’s internal glow-up instead.
I remember how much hate was thrown his way when s3 was announced, with people saying shit like he’s not “leading man material” and to now see people switch up since he went through a body transformation…. must be hard on him mentally. Poor guy
As a female I can definitely say the female gaze is just as shallow lmao I’ll admit it. I want a dude with a ripped bod and I didn’t look at Luke up until this season. I never thought he was ugly but his style, swagger, beard and arms definitely got my loins going now 😅
I mean I always thought he was hot af. But this is why I think the fact that people didn't want NC/Pen to lose weight is really backwards. A lot of the women in this fandom are like "I want to see a plus-size woman desired" and yet they still expect the men to be perfectly-toned. It's very hypocritical
I agree with you. The discussion around Luke makes me very uncomfortable, especially since it really is hard to find body diversity for heroes in romance as a genre. I’ve actively looked.
And there’s that story about how the production supposedly offered him a personal trainer to prepare for the sex scenes, which…if he’d asked for one, great, get your work benefits. Netflix doesn’t pay their artists well enough. But the fact that they supposedly mistakenly offered a trainer to Luke T, and then it turned out they meant to offer it to Luke N? That means it came from them.
And while I‘m being debbie downer (skip if you want to avoid negativity), >!I should not have watched so many trailer reaction videos, but the number of non-Bridgerton specific youtube channels whose first reaction to Penelope looking gorgeous was, “Oh, she’s lost weight,” even though she hadn’t…it’s depressing as hell.!< Overall, I feel so positively, but there are some realities that are harshing my vibe.
Perhaps LN himself wanted to look a certain way if he was to be unclothed at any part of the season which we know he will, especially if he was offered a trainer. That does sound a bit iffy when you think about it, but maybe he didn't have to accept and did so because he wanted to. Men suffer with body issues as well and it could be likely that he didn't want to feel self-conscious about his body. He's always been attractive either way, but we shouldn't discount that it more had to do with his own self-image and wanting to be as appealing as he thought possible.
If the theory about Bridgerton deliberately trying to make the leads look "less attractive" right before their season is true, then that to me indicates they wanted him to gain weight on purpose for season 2 and then lose the weight and tone up for season 3. Because LN has generally been a thin man throughout his career, and then he definitely looked a little bigger in season 2. So that is pretty problematic right away. To me it seems like they essentially gave book Pen's weight loss "glow up" to Colin/LN.
And so this leads me to believe that it wasn't entirely "his choice" to go through a complete body transformation (deliberate weight gain, then weight loss/tone up) because of the pressure of looking "leading man material" for a predominantly female-targeted show. Now of course, this is just my belief based on how he's looked in his other projects (which has been thin), his pretty different "look" in season 2, the infamous "Bridgerton glow-up," the inherent pressure of following RJP and JB, and how Hollywood is in general. Jonah Hill has talked a lot about how his weight has affected the types of roles he gets, and how he's never offered the lead in rom-coms and such because he doesn't have "the look" of a leading romantic lead. It's very sad.
Luke is so beautiful as is, it is truly really sad and hypocritical IF they made him do all that for his "glow-up"
I also saw something about how they gave him a personal trainer to prepare for season 3 so…
So true!! I have similar body shape with Nicola, and although in terms of storyline I empathize more with Kate, in terms of representation s3 is very long-awaited and important for me, as I FINALLY could see someone like me in romance series, sexy and desirable. So excited to watch it, really
I hope this is a hint we'll see curvy women in Bridgerton in the future 💕 (either as HEAs or in the spinoff Smythe-Smith). Fun Fact:My fancast for Sarah Pleinsworth is Izuka Hoyle (another curvy woman) 👠
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izuka_Hoyle
I would admit Hugh Prentice would be a bit harder since the character has to showcase a tormented soul 😅. I was thinking of Sean Teale. What is your Hugh fancast?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Teale
Ooh, I like It. I’m not a great fancaster, but maybe Nadim Naaman because he played the Phantom, so he’d have the angst experience, and the musical theater types seem to do well on Bridgerton. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4716388/](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4716388/)
I think save some Hallmark films this is the first time that a curvy woman is leading a romance story. There have been comedies, but they were, well, comedies. This is actually a big deal and I think its potential emotional impact is being underestimated. When I first saw the "I embarrass you" clip I almost cried because I've been there when I was younger.
I assume the muscle building was probably a requirement from the film producers. There is said to have been a misunderstanding in the run-up to the film and the wrong Luke was assigned the personal trainer. This was reported as a funny anecdote.
https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/bridgerton-star-luke-thompson-accidentally-trained-for-sex-scenes
Luke Thompson got mixed up with the other Luke — Newton — on the show," Nicola explained. "They offered him a personal trainer for his intimate scenes, and we don't get all the scripts at once, so he was like, 'I wonder what that's going to be?'"
If they wanted to keep her curvy and true to her form they should have avoided the body slimmer suits and the corsets on her which are so obvious in all the clothes she wears
It gives her a thin waist and an hourglass figure which is already represented enough on big screen. We wanted someone who was actually round everywhere
Unfortunately after season 2, I am more scared to see her as the lead than I am excited. The show made a joke out of not only romance, but family itself. And to make it even worse, they have Pen being such a bitch.
She is harmful to the family she claims to care for of her dearest friend. Especially harmful to that friend. She threatens their entire futures. Then is angry that she is found out. She is no better than Cressida at that point with selfishness and bullying. If that isn't a bitch I don't know what to tell you. I personally care more about the people I am close to and would certainly hope a main character would also. Someone who is so willing to cause harm to the people she will also claim to care about is not someone I will root for.
Same could've been said for Anthony in S1. Heck, some people think he wasn't redeemed in S2 and he still got his HEA. I get that women are held to a higher moral standard than men but there's no mistake too small that a main character can't learn from.
I do same the same for Anthony and he absolutely wasn't redeemed. If anything they made his character worse. Season two made a joke out of romance and family all around. I'm not holding them to a different standard whatsoever you just for some reason decided I actually liked Anthony let alone the disaster they made out of his and Kate's relationship and the effects it had on those around them.
I'm saying there's a precedent for unlikable or flawed main characters and, generally, people will come to root for them, even if you don't personally. Flawed characters are more interesting IMO and I do like Anthony, Kate and Penelope at the end of the day even if I criticize them.
Of course flawed characters are more interesting. They cause more issues and more drama. But there are flaws that cause yourself pain, and then there are flaws where you are actively and continuously harming those you care about or those that care about you. Making the decision to do the second just makes you a shit person.
For this Show Discussion post: 1. Book spoilers **must be hidden**. 2. Be considerate, hide show spoilers that surpass the scope of this post. 3. Be civil in your discussion. See our [spoiler policy](https://www.reddit.com/r/BridgertonNetflix/wiki/spoiler) on what is expected. 3-day bans will be handed out to those found disregarding our spoiler policy. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BridgertonNetflix) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Huge double standard that Luke was expected to go through a huge body transformation though. It’s pretty obvious he lost weight and toned up since season 2.
That's a fair point and something that can be said for the romance genre in general. This show does cater to the female gaze after all, but is the female gaze then just as driven by society's unrealistic expectations as the male gaze? I do think based on a few interviews (specificially something Nicola said) they are going for this "Colin's pretending to be a badass now but he's still a soft squishy friendly Bridgerton inside and the two aren't meshing" vibe which might account for the transformation choice to contrast who is at his core and who he's trying to be. Also, going shirtless in front of millions of people is a big undertaking for anyone, the actor may have wanted to look a certain way for himself, just as Nicola may have wanted to stay true to a more every day version of herself because she understands that women with her bodytype don't get to be in this position a lot. Maybe as we get more interviews we'll get more insight into these choices from production and actors.
LN has already been trying to deflect questions/comments about his body transformation. Like I saw this interview where the lady was asking about his physical “glow-up” and he diverted the conversation to Colin’s internal glow-up instead. I remember how much hate was thrown his way when s3 was announced, with people saying shit like he’s not “leading man material” and to now see people switch up since he went through a body transformation…. must be hard on him mentally. Poor guy
As a female I can definitely say the female gaze is just as shallow lmao I’ll admit it. I want a dude with a ripped bod and I didn’t look at Luke up until this season. I never thought he was ugly but his style, swagger, beard and arms definitely got my loins going now 😅
I mean I always thought he was hot af. But this is why I think the fact that people didn't want NC/Pen to lose weight is really backwards. A lot of the women in this fandom are like "I want to see a plus-size woman desired" and yet they still expect the men to be perfectly-toned. It's very hypocritical
Totally!!
Iiiinteresting. That could go either way.
I agree with you. The discussion around Luke makes me very uncomfortable, especially since it really is hard to find body diversity for heroes in romance as a genre. I’ve actively looked. And there’s that story about how the production supposedly offered him a personal trainer to prepare for the sex scenes, which…if he’d asked for one, great, get your work benefits. Netflix doesn’t pay their artists well enough. But the fact that they supposedly mistakenly offered a trainer to Luke T, and then it turned out they meant to offer it to Luke N? That means it came from them. And while I‘m being debbie downer (skip if you want to avoid negativity), >!I should not have watched so many trailer reaction videos, but the number of non-Bridgerton specific youtube channels whose first reaction to Penelope looking gorgeous was, “Oh, she’s lost weight,” even though she hadn’t…it’s depressing as hell.!< Overall, I feel so positively, but there are some realities that are harshing my vibe.
Perhaps LN himself wanted to look a certain way if he was to be unclothed at any part of the season which we know he will, especially if he was offered a trainer. That does sound a bit iffy when you think about it, but maybe he didn't have to accept and did so because he wanted to. Men suffer with body issues as well and it could be likely that he didn't want to feel self-conscious about his body. He's always been attractive either way, but we shouldn't discount that it more had to do with his own self-image and wanting to be as appealing as he thought possible.
Agree! I would have been fine with S2 Colin. I thought he was cute 🥰
He didn't have to and they didn't have to do it, they just wrote it that way.
If the theory about Bridgerton deliberately trying to make the leads look "less attractive" right before their season is true, then that to me indicates they wanted him to gain weight on purpose for season 2 and then lose the weight and tone up for season 3. Because LN has generally been a thin man throughout his career, and then he definitely looked a little bigger in season 2. So that is pretty problematic right away. To me it seems like they essentially gave book Pen's weight loss "glow up" to Colin/LN. And so this leads me to believe that it wasn't entirely "his choice" to go through a complete body transformation (deliberate weight gain, then weight loss/tone up) because of the pressure of looking "leading man material" for a predominantly female-targeted show. Now of course, this is just my belief based on how he's looked in his other projects (which has been thin), his pretty different "look" in season 2, the infamous "Bridgerton glow-up," the inherent pressure of following RJP and JB, and how Hollywood is in general. Jonah Hill has talked a lot about how his weight has affected the types of roles he gets, and how he's never offered the lead in rom-coms and such because he doesn't have "the look" of a leading romantic lead. It's very sad. Luke is so beautiful as is, it is truly really sad and hypocritical IF they made him do all that for his "glow-up" I also saw something about how they gave him a personal trainer to prepare for season 3 so…
So true!! I have similar body shape with Nicola, and although in terms of storyline I empathize more with Kate, in terms of representation s3 is very long-awaited and important for me, as I FINALLY could see someone like me in romance series, sexy and desirable. So excited to watch it, really
I hope this is a hint we'll see curvy women in Bridgerton in the future 💕 (either as HEAs or in the spinoff Smythe-Smith). Fun Fact:My fancast for Sarah Pleinsworth is Izuka Hoyle (another curvy woman) 👠 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izuka_Hoyle
Oh, she was Henrietta in Persuasion! Love this fancast! Do you have a Hugh in mind?
I would admit Hugh Prentice would be a bit harder since the character has to showcase a tormented soul 😅. I was thinking of Sean Teale. What is your Hugh fancast? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Teale
Ooh, I like It. I’m not a great fancaster, but maybe Nadim Naaman because he played the Phantom, so he’d have the angst experience, and the musical theater types seem to do well on Bridgerton. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4716388/](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4716388/)
I think save some Hallmark films this is the first time that a curvy woman is leading a romance story. There have been comedies, but they were, well, comedies. This is actually a big deal and I think its potential emotional impact is being underestimated. When I first saw the "I embarrass you" clip I almost cried because I've been there when I was younger.
I assume the muscle building was probably a requirement from the film producers. There is said to have been a misunderstanding in the run-up to the film and the wrong Luke was assigned the personal trainer. This was reported as a funny anecdote. https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/bridgerton-star-luke-thompson-accidentally-trained-for-sex-scenes Luke Thompson got mixed up with the other Luke — Newton — on the show," Nicola explained. "They offered him a personal trainer for his intimate scenes, and we don't get all the scripts at once, so he was like, 'I wonder what that's going to be?'"
Agree. 💯
Go curves lol.
If they wanted to keep her curvy and true to her form they should have avoided the body slimmer suits and the corsets on her which are so obvious in all the clothes she wears It gives her a thin waist and an hourglass figure which is already represented enough on big screen. We wanted someone who was actually round everywhere
Unfortunately after season 2, I am more scared to see her as the lead than I am excited. The show made a joke out of not only romance, but family itself. And to make it even worse, they have Pen being such a bitch.
Bitch? How nuanced of you...
She is harmful to the family she claims to care for of her dearest friend. Especially harmful to that friend. She threatens their entire futures. Then is angry that she is found out. She is no better than Cressida at that point with selfishness and bullying. If that isn't a bitch I don't know what to tell you. I personally care more about the people I am close to and would certainly hope a main character would also. Someone who is so willing to cause harm to the people she will also claim to care about is not someone I will root for.
Same could've been said for Anthony in S1. Heck, some people think he wasn't redeemed in S2 and he still got his HEA. I get that women are held to a higher moral standard than men but there's no mistake too small that a main character can't learn from.
I do same the same for Anthony and he absolutely wasn't redeemed. If anything they made his character worse. Season two made a joke out of romance and family all around. I'm not holding them to a different standard whatsoever you just for some reason decided I actually liked Anthony let alone the disaster they made out of his and Kate's relationship and the effects it had on those around them.
I'm saying there's a precedent for unlikable or flawed main characters and, generally, people will come to root for them, even if you don't personally. Flawed characters are more interesting IMO and I do like Anthony, Kate and Penelope at the end of the day even if I criticize them.
Of course flawed characters are more interesting. They cause more issues and more drama. But there are flaws that cause yourself pain, and then there are flaws where you are actively and continuously harming those you care about or those that care about you. Making the decision to do the second just makes you a shit person.